What's this? An update on the very next day? Have the daily updates returned?! Who knows. First things first, I want to thank all of you for continuing to support this fic, because we are now at 900 FAVES AND FOLLOWS and still counting! We may have beaten Midnight Oil already, but there's still the Naruto crossover that we have to overthrow. It has more than 1k follows and 970 faves but I'm certain that we can beat it! We'll keep on showing that Gotoubun fluff will reign supreme! Now with that being said, let's see what this chapter has to offer!

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Disclaimer: I don't own the Quintessential Quintuplets, or any of its characters...

For the next few minutes, the whole group focused on eating their lunches quietly. Thankfully, the group of girls managed to mask Fuutarou's presence completely and he couldn't be noticed by anyone even though they were in a place filled with countless other students. The fact that his head was down because he was filled with disappointment even helped to keep himself from being noticed by other people.

The quints were very fortunate that none of them have revealed that they were part of a set of five siblings to their respective classes yet, otherwise all of them will be caught in the middle of the Fuutarou-Itsuki rumor that's been going on for over a week now.

Heh, if the whole school knew that its smartest student was involved not only with one of the Nakano quintuplets but all of them, who knows what kind of chaos would ensue?

"So, how did your little talk with Fuutarou-kun go, Miku?" Ichika asked, wanting to spark a conversation because she was clearly bothered by how the table was quiet and had nothing to talk about.

Miku blinked a few times, before she looked up at her eldest sister in shock. No one, not even her sisters were supposed to know about that meeting, so how did Ichika…..

"H-H-How did you know…?" she mumbled.

Ichika shrugged, before sending her sister a smirk.

"It's pretty easy to connect the dots when I saw you two talking at the roof after I decided to follow you all the way there."

"You followed me…?"

"I thought it was weird that you would go to the rooftop instead of heading to the cafeteria right away like you always do, so I followed you there as soon as I saw you going up the stairs. Imagine my surprise when I saw you two talking to each other."

The other girls listened closely to Ichika and Miku's exchange of words, and they all had varied expressions on their faces. Nino bore a look of suspicion, Yotsuba was simply curious about the whole thing, while Itsuki turned towards her tutor feeling betrayed.

"So that's why you wanted to head to the rooftop after class, Uesugi-kun. I thought you were going to speak with one of our classmates?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

Fuutarou kept his head down, although he felt more depressed than before. "Sorry about that. I figured that Miku didn't want to talk in the midst of other people, so I didn't say anything about her."

Too late.

Itsuki had already puffed out her cheeks, and gave him a big pout that showed what she felt at the moment.

"You could have told me! I would have understood that you two needed privacy!"

All Fuutarou could offer her was a bow in apology.

"Again, I'm sorry."

"What were they doing there, Ichika?!" Nino asked, almost banging her fists on the table as a way to demand answers.

If her intention was to get the attention of her sisters, then she definitely succeeded.

"I don't know," Ichika turned to Nino and just shrugged. "I didn't want to snoop on something that didn't involve me, so I left them alone. That's why I was asking Miku what happened."

Unsatisfied with Ichika's answer, the second quint turned towards the one who likely had the most things to say about this.

"What were you two talking about, Miku?"

"Nino, there's no need to ask them for answers. What they talked about is clearly between the two of them only."

Ichika was quick to intervene by cutting into the conversation. Now she was starting to regret bringing up what she saw at the rooftop earlier.

"Are you saying you're not even curious about what they were doing at the rooftop, of all places? They could've talked at a classroom, but they chose to have a meeting where no one else can see them!"

"Well, I won't deny it, but I do know that whatever they talked about is not my business."

It may not have looked like it, but Fuutarou was listening to every word that was being spoken and he knew that he had to step in at any moment before they get exposed. From what he knew about Nino, she's not gonna stop until she gets what she wants, which means that Miku will have a hard time getting out of this situation.

She might even accidentally bring up the topic of their conversation earlier…

Deciding that enough was enough, Fuutarou raised his head for the first time since lunch began and spoke.

"Miku was asking me stuff about the tutoring thing, that's it. She wanted to know if I was good enough to be your tutor when I start next week, so she asked me some questions. Needless to say, we reached an agreement in the end, and you could say that she approves of me now."

Four of the quints had turned to him and listened to everything that came out of his mouth, treating it as the honest answer since he was there. There was no reason for him to lie, right?

Apparently not.

Miku stared at Fuutarou with her mouth slightly open, shocked at the impromptu explanation that came from him. That has to be something that he just came up with on the spot, right?

He must be having the same thoughts as her. She didn't want to tell Nino anything about what Fuutarou and her talked about, but being pressured into it wasn't helping her case.

It was definitely a good thing that he was here, huh?

The third quint looked ashamed of herself for her earlier thoughts about him, accepting that if he wasn't here, she would've been forced into a corner and she might have told everyone about the 'challenge' she gave their tutor…

"Oh, I almost forgot! Is it true that you're not going to tutor us today, Uesugi-san?" Yotsuba asked, now looking sad compared to her earlier smiling self.

"Well, I need to prepare myself for it, Yotsuba. I initially thought I was only going to tutor you and Itsuki until my services were no longer needed, but your father wanted me to do more than that. I certainly didn't see this coming, so I need some time to sort out everything I'll need."

"Aww, I was looking forward to our tutoring session today…" she mumbled, her green ribbon drooping down as an extension of how she felt.

The sight of Yotsuba looking dejected was enough to bring a small smile out of Fuutarou, the first time he showed another emotion other than dismay, as he reached out to pat her head.

"It'll just be today, Yotsuba. Come Monday, I'll be able to continue my duties as your tutor."

The headpat he gave her immediately brought the ribbon-wearing quint out of her slump and caused her to smile brightly again.

"I can't wait for it, then!" she exclaimed, grabbing the arm that he used to pat her and hugging it close with a blush on her cheeks.

The action caused Fuutarou to get flustered as well, though he made no move to get himself off her. While this was happening, Nino and Itsuki were sending their sister jealous looks, clearly wanting to do the same thing and maybe more.

"Ara, Yotsuba-chan is being clingy today… I wonder what happened that caused our dear sister to be like this…"

Ichika didn't know why, but she definitely felt something strange inside her chest when she saw Yotsuba hugging Fuutarou's arm like a loving girlfriend. It was a feeling that she's never experienced before and because of that, she felt that she had to say something about it.

"What's wrong with huggging between friends?"

Miku chose to speak up this time. "Yotsuba, what you're doing clearly isn't a hug between friends."

"It's not?" asked Yotsuba, almost as if she was completely clueless about the meaning of her actions.

"L-Let's all just focus on eating lunch, shall we?" Fuutarou asked, managing to pry himself out of Yotsuba's strong grip and shifting his focus back to his remaining food.

"So you really didn't talk with Miku about anything else?"

"What else would we talk about?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering what could be so important and hidden that you two had to be someplace where people won't see you," Nino crossed her arms and turned her attention back to Miku, sending her another look of suspicion.

Fuutarou bowed his head, which got Nino's attention easily. "That would be my fault, I'm sorry. I didn't want anyone else bothering Miku and I while we were speaking with one another. Furthermore, it would have been more troublesome if someone else indeed see us, would it not?"

Now that caused Nino's suspicious look to falter, as his last point made a lot of sense. If anyone else had seen him talking to Miku, she would've gotten involved in the Fuutarou-Itsuki rumor. The worst case scenario would be the rest of them being caught in the middle of it too.

"Okay, okay, you made your point! I was just worried about my sister, that's all…"

"Again, I'm sorry. I only wanted to talk with Miku and I thought talking to her in a secluded place would be the safe option for everyone."

"Ugh, just forget it!"

The atmosphere became quiet once again; as soon as Fuutarou was done his lunch, he knew that it would be a bad thing to leave when the girls weren't even done eating yet, so he simply resorted to his usual habit during lunch: reviewing his test papers and analyzing them.

On the other hand, the girls were busy doing their own thing. Itsuki, Yotsuba, and Miku were still busy with their meals, while Nino was already finished and was spending her time chatting with her friends. Again, the silence bothered a certain someone, so she tried to think of something else that they could talk about.

"I'm not used to the table being completely quiet, so I'll keep lightening up the air around here," Ichika spoke, offering her tutor a gentle smile. "Are you looking forward to teaching all of us starting next week, Fuutarou-kun?"

Fuutarou let a smirk appear on his face. "That depends. If you mean that I'm looking forward to teaching five girls instead of two, then definitely not. But if you mean that I'm looking forward to make sure the five of you pass your exams, then yes."

Nino looked up from her phone to frown at him. "What the hell's the difference?"

"I'll leave the five of you to think about it on your own. For now, I suggest that you use the next few days to study your books in advance so that you can at least have an idea on what we'll be talking about when we begin."

"But Uesugi-san, I told you that there will be a festival, remember? Can't we save the studying for when you teach us again?" asked Yotsuba.

"That's still on Sunday, Yotsuba. We can use our time today and tomorrow to study so we can study as much as we can before the festival!"

"Eh, no thanks. I have things to do tomorrow and studying will be a hassle! It'll be a lot easier if I start studying once Uesugi-kun starts teaching us, you know?" Nino exclaimed, before sending a pointed look at Fuutarou. "Do you have a problem with that, Mr. Tutor?"

"You can spend your free time however you want, Nino. I only suggested that you should study in advance, after all. However, I do expect you to comply with everything that I say once I start teaching all of you on Monday. Your father wanted me to ensure that all of you pass your exams, and that's exactly what I'll do."

Nino continued to frown at him for a few more moments, before shrugging.

"That's fair enough."

"Wait a minute, Fuutarou-kun. Are you going to the festival too?"

Upon hearing Ichika's question, the other girls looked at Fuutarou and waited for him to say his answer. Of course, both Nino and Yotsuba already knew about this whole thing, but they weren't going to show it to their other sisters, even to each other. It would be too suspicious.

"Yeah, but I'll be with my sister and my old man when we go there."

Ichika considered his answer. "Hmm, maybe we can meet up altogether when it happens, then? It'll be fun to see the fireworks with more people this year."

Fuutarou nodded after a few moments, before turning his attention back to his test papers. "I don't see anything wrong with that, so why not? I'm sure Raiha would have a lot more fun that way."

While everyone else continued to talk about the upcoming festival this weekend, Miku was left in her own world, thinking about this new information that she just learned.

"The festival, huh… that's a good place to get him to look at me…" Miku thought to herself, taking this opportunity to look at her opponent while he was unaware of her. "But that's still on Sunday, and Fuutarou's not going to our house today… maybe I can do something while we're still at school…"

She still had a few more hours before school ends, which was plenty of time for her to come up with a battle strategy to help her in this war.

"I think I have an idea…"

~~XoXo~~

Miku allowed a little smile to adorn her face as she walked through the hallway. She was very fortunate that her last period ended earlier than the normal time and after checking her phone, none of her sisters were done with their classes yet, which meant that she had some free time to enact her plan!

For her first attempt in this conquest that she was currently on, it would be an easy but foolproof plan.

All she had to do was wait for him outside of his classroom, then surprise him when he opens the door. Fuutarou won't know what hit him and it'll be her victory!

She wouldn't even have to disguise herself as one of her sisters for this!

"There it is."

Upon seeing Fuutarou and Itsuki's classroom, she took a quick peek through the door's window and saw that the teacher inside was packing his stuff, which meant that he was preparing to leave.

"I got here just in time. Now all I need to do is wait for Fuutarou to step outside."

And that's what she did.

The moment she saw their teacher about to leave, Miku hid herself behind the door while sneaking glances at the people inside to see if her sister and Fuutarou were about to leave. The other students in the classroom followed after their teacher, most of them looking quite eager to get home for their own reasons.

A few moments later, Miku noticed that no one else was coming out of the room, but she was sure that Fuutarou and Itsuki haven't stepped out yet. She took another glance at the remaining people inside, and she saw that her sister and tutor were about to leave, with Fuutarou leading the way.

Miku smiled to herself, pleased that things went according to plan so quickly. She positioned herself outside the door and put on a cute smile, ready for what's to come.

The door swung open.

"Good afternoon, Fuutarou. Can we walk home together?"

The third quint waited patiently for an answer from Fuutarou, but the voice that she heard next wasn't even close to the young man.

"M-Miku…!"

"Itsuki…?"

The fifth quintuplet took a few deep breaths to calm herself after being caught off guard by her sister's sudden appearance, while Miku had a dumbfounded look on her face.

"Y-Y-You startled me… is everything alright?"

"B-But I thought…"

"Itsuki, is it one of your sisters?" came Fuutarou's voice from behind her, who was

"Er, uh… yes! Miku is here right now, I think she wants to talk— Miku…?! Why are you running away?!"

Miku continued to run and didn't even look back, too ashamed to face defeat. Her face was burning with embarrassment and her eyes were swirling as if she was about to faint at any moment.

Her plan was a bust… all in a matter of seconds.

THIS BATTLE'S RESULT: MIKU'S LOSS

~~XoXo~~

Miku took a deep breath to calm herself, as she quietly made her way over towards the tree where Fuutarou was. Itsuki wasn't with him right now, as she was at the restroom, so she can't possibly fail this time!

Yes, she might have failed in her first attempt, but no matter! She was a warrior, and she won't give up that easily! Failure will only make her keep on going until she achieves what she wants.

Besides, her plan this time didn't involve waiting for Fuutarou. She could tell that it was the reason why her earlier plan failed, because she waited for him and caused her to depend on his appearance.

This time, it's different.

She'll be the one to approach him quietly, use the voice of one of her sisters, and get him to look at her. And there won't be any hindrances this time, because Itsuki wasn't here and her other sisters were still in their classrooms!

Miku managed to stand just behind Fuutarou without getting his attention, as she thought of whose voice should she imitate. She was the best when it came to disguising as one of her sisters, so Miku was confident that she can pull this off without any difficulty.

"Fuutarou-kun, can we talk for a bit?" she asked, doing her best Ichika voice and even putting on a smile like how her older sister would.

"Miku? What is it that you want to talk about?" he asked, slightly turning his head but not completely.

Miku's smile fell, and her eyes widened in shock.

"N-No way…"

How did Fuutarou find out that it was her?!

"Miku?!" he exclaimed, turning around fully when he noticed that she was running away from him. "Oi, Miku!"

His voice fell on deaf ears, as Miku continued to run without looking back. She didn't even notice that she was about to run past Ichika, who was done with her classes and wanted to wait for everyone else out here.

"Miku? Why are you running awa—"

Nope, Miku just kept on running and it seemed like her sister didn't even notice her presence.

"Strange…" Ichika muttered to herself, before shrugging and walking over to where Fuutarou was.

Fuutarou turned towards the eldest sister and sent her a questioning look. "Ichika, was that Miku?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it was."

The young man scratched the top of his head in confusion. "Did she want to tell me something?"

"Who knows? She just ignored me and ran away for some reason," she chuckled as she stood beside him. Things were quiet between them for a while, until Ichika took a glance at him and decided to break the silence. "Do you mind if I ask something, Fuutarou-kun?"

"Hm?" he asked, turning towards her.

"How did it happen?" she winked.

"How did what happen?"

"How did Dad ask you to tutor all of us! You must have seen him when you left with Itsuki, right? We didn't even know he was going to visit us yesterday!"

"Oh, that? Yeah, we did see him but nothing too drastic happened…"

While the two continue to talk, Miku observed them from afar, hiding behind another tree as she tried to catch her breath after running all of a sudden.

"How did he know who I was just from my voice…? It couldn't have just been a lucky guess, right?" she thought, unaware of the fact that she was blushing and her heart was beating rapidly insode her chest.

The quintuplets were taught long ago when they were still little kids that the only way for someone to be able to tell them apart is if that person loved them. Their mother was perfectly capable of doing that as well as their father, to the point that they can see through the disguises.

But Fuutarou…?

Was he really able to tell them apart? Or is it just because of a lucky guess?

THIS BATTLE'S RESULT: MIKU'S LOSS AND WIN

Hahahahaha, Miku just can't get what she wants, huh? But never fear, she won't give up even if she fails a hundred times! I see that she's starting to see just how special Fuutarou is, because he's able to tell it was her even though he only heard her voice! Well, that's basically because he knows the voice of his soulmates and since she's the odd one out, it's obvious who it is. That's gonna be it for this day though, because the next chapter will finally have the not-date shopping trip with Nino! What's gonna happen there? Will something develop? Will someone spy on her and Fuutarou? Find out in the next chapter!

MINASAN, YONDE KURETE ARIGATŌ! AISHITEMAAAAASUUUUU! *starts playing air guitar*

-Lance